Get Real: What Kind of World are YOU Buying?

by Mara Rockliff

Overview

Can you change the world with your wallet?

You already do.
In this frank, teen-friendly manifesto, Mara Rockliff reveals what you're really buying when you spend your money on a cell phone, a cheap t-shirt, or fast food -- and shows the way to better choices, both for people and the planet.

Start seeing the world for real, and discover how you can make a difference. You've got buying power -- now let's see you change the world for good! GET REAL has been selected as an Honor Book in the Nonfiction category for the 2011 Green Earth Book Award.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762446483
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	11/01/2011
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	30 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	10 - 17 Years

About the Author

When she's not spreading dangerous ideas, Mara Rockliff can be spotted loading up on books at her town library, biking to a nearby farm for fresh ingredients for homemade ice cream, or fixing yet another mug of fair trade tea. In real life, she lives in eastern Pennsylvania with her family.

Editorial Reviews

Lisa Crandall, formerly at Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI -Starred Review School Library Journal
"The author’s in-your-face approach makes her points while still engaging readers–she is never didactic or overbearing. She encourages teens to make a difference in their world by making small changes to things they do already–buying fair-trade chocolate or saving up for an organic cotton T-shirt. The pop-art illustrations are clever and illustrative of many points. The impressive bibliography provides lists of documentaries, websites, books, articles, and other sources to help teens find out how their favorite products came to be (and came to be so cheap). Learning more about how these products are made just might make some teens think twice about their buying habits"

BermudaOnion weblog
"This book is loaded with lots great information (some of which is disturbing) and includes links to enable the reader to research topics more. It also empowers teens by showing ways that teens can and have made a difference in their communities."

From the Publisher

Gr 6 Up—Rockliff outlines how mass consumerism is harming our planet, and specifically how teens can use their purchasing power to enact change. She cites examples of products that teens use frequently (high-tech electronics, clothing, junk food, etc.) and explains how their production often harms the people who make them, the environment, and, potentially, the end consumer. She explains that a chocolate bar was most likely made with cacao beans harvested by exploited workers, and that a cell phone contains enough heavy metals to seriously harm our groundwater. She covers (un)fair labor practices, environmental pillaging, factory farming, excessive marketing, local vs. corporate stores, and the pervasive throwaway mentality that drives the whole cycle. The author's in-your-face approach makes her points while still engaging readers—she is never didactic or overbearing. She encourages teens to make a difference in their world by making small changes to things they do already—buying fair-trade chocolate or saving up for an organic cotton T-shirt. The pop-art illustrations are clever and illustrative of many points. The impressive bibliography provides lists of documentaries, websites, books, articles, and other sources to help teens find out how their favorite products came to be (and came to be so cheap). Learning more about how these products are made just might make some teens think twice about their buying habits.—Lisa Crandall, formerly at Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI

School Library Journal